Margaret’s Jewels Fetch Millions At Auction
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
LONDON – Bidders clamored yesterday for jewelry owned by Princess Margaret – including the tiara she wore at her wedding. Christie’s said the collection of jewels drew $17.3 million in the first day of the two-day sale.
Margaret, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died of a stroke in 2002 at the age of 71.
One of the most-watched items was the tiara Margaret wore at her 1960 wedding to Lord Snowdon. It fetched $1.7 million, far more than its $360,000 pre-sale estimate.
A Faberge clock made in 1900 and given by her grandmother, Queen Mary, fetched $2.2 million while the antique riviere diamond necklace Queen Mary wore at her 1937 coronation sold for $1.6 million.
The items were being sold by Margaret’s children, Viscount David Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto. The princess’s family plans to use the proceeds to pay estate tax estimated at $5.5 million and donate the rest to charity.
